Climb Every Mountain
by Kharasma
Summary: Riley and Maya's weekend plans go up in smoke when Riley's uncle Eric comes to town. Will the girls survive the madness of a weekend in the mountains with the Matthews brothers? Will love bloom on the trails? Will anyone learn anything? Find out!
1. We're Going Camping!

Authors' Note: Hey, everybody! I'm Khara, and this is my first Girl Meets World fanfiction. Piece. Thing. I'm not focused on shipping, it's a friendship/family themed story, though there may be some hints of Riley/Lucas. And because I'm a stuffy old fan of Boy Meets World, this story heavily features two major characters from the old show (aside from Cory). Don't worry if you're not familiar with them: Maya's meeting the strange adults in Riley's life for the first time too, so all shall be revealed! So without further ado, let the show begin:

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><p>Maya walked the few blocks to the Matthews' home with a spring in her step. All was well with the world: she had Riley at her side, they were looking great, and best of all, they'd see Brideghoul in concert tonight! All she needed to do was get her nervous little friend past her parents.<p>

Unfortunately, said nervous friend suddenly latched onto Maya's arm, jerking her to a stop. "Maya, wait! I think I need another runthrough of the plan."

Again? Maya shook her head, lifting a hand to pat her friend's arm. "Oh, Riley. My sweet Riley. Trust me, it'll work. If you just let us get up those stairs."

"Okay, stairs. I can do stairs. But what are we telling them?" Riley asked again, biting her lip.

"See, the beauty of this one is that it's the truth," Maya grinned, flicking a bright yellow flyer in front of her. "We tell your parents it's a free library concert, Mrs. Davis is the chaperone, and we'll be home by 9. On a Friday. Which is a much earlier curfew than most of our classmates have on weekends, I'd like to add," she finished on a grumble.

"So...how about we just show them the flyer?" Riley asked, snatching it from her friend's fingers. "No talking required. And you know how I get when I have to talk."

"Unfortunately, I do," Maya agreed, patting her friend's shoulder. "You've got a point there. So, new plan: don't talk, show them the flyer. And we'll be in the clear before you know it."

"So...we're ready, then. Come on!" Riley rallied, snatching her friend's hand and racing up the last few steps. She jammed her key in the lock, wrenched the door open...

...and was immediately yanked from Maya's grasp and into the arms of a grinning older man with a rounded baby-face and a smashing goatee. "There's my smiley Riley! Where've you been, I've been waiting all day for you! Oh, you're gonna love this!"

"She's been at school, oh strange one," said Maya, giving the man a wide berth. Who was this weirdo? Riley definitely hadn't prepared her for this. "And put my girl down, would you?"

"School! Oh yeah," he laughed, finally setting poor Riley down. She was now clutching the yellow flyer to her chest, looking a little frazzled. Oblivious to this, the boisterous man continued. "So I heard you're in your dad's class this year? Oh man, I bet the other kids bug you for favors all the time. Word of advice: you should wrap those other kids around your finger while you can."

Maya finally interrupted, yanking Riley back to safety and hissing in her ear. "Riley, what gives? Who is this guy?"

"...oh! I don't think you've ever met, have you?" Riley realized with an awkward laugh, lightly slapping her forehead. She stepped between her best friend and her uncle, gesturing to each. "Maya, this is my uncle Eric. Uncle Eric, this is my best friend, Maya."

"Nice to meet you, Maya," Eric said grandly, oblivious to her weirded out expression. "I've heard so much about you. Rough and tough, nothing but trouble, kind of like a certain friend of my brother's?"

"Uh...nice to meet you too, Uncle Eric," Maya answered. "And to answer your question...no, no one bothers Riley. Not while I'm around, 'cause you're right about me. And they don't really need Riley's help with her dad. Mr. Matthews isn't exactly the king of the classroom, if you know what I'm saying."

"Yeah. Dad's class is a little wild. But that's okay! I don't mind wild," added Riley, waving things off with her usual laughter.

"Great! Then you're ready for the WILD-erness!" said another voice from behind them. Mr. Matthews bounded through the doorway faster than the girls had ever seen, dropping a fishing cap on Riley's head. "It'll be just us and the majesty of the Poconos, baby! Your bags, they're a-packing, the van's a-rolling, and let's GO!"

"Hey, wait a second! Where's MY hat?" asked an indignant Eric, but Riley and Maya tuned out the squabbling of the Matthews brothers. Instead, Riley flashed a look of horror at her best friend. Maya answered with a blank stare.

"Maya, this is not good!" Riley whined, pulling the brim of the new hat over her ears. "Are you hearing what I'm hearing?"

"That your father's gone ahead and planned a whole weekend for you and we're not going to the Brideghoul concert? I heard it too."

"Worse! We're going...camping! In the woods! With tents and bugs and lions and tigers and bears!" Riley worried, her fingers shaking in front of her.

"Oh my," Maya said flatly. She sighed, taking her friend's shoulders once again. "You don't have lions and tigers in this neck of the woods, sweetie. Bears, maybe, but that's why you seal our food and string it up a tree."

"...okay?" Riley didn't sound convinced, but they could work on that. She then seemed to remember something, and rapidly shook her head to jostle the memory loose. "But we're losing sight of what's important here! The concert! Daddy, we can't go this weekend!"

While the girls had been discussing their predicament, good old Uncle Eric had somehow acquired a hot pink fishing cap of his own. Maybe it was better if they didn't ask questions. They didn't have time to, because they now faced a pouting Cory Matthews.

"Oh? And why can't you spend a weekend in the mountains with your good old dad?"

"Because this!" Riley replied, doing the only thing that came to mind. In that she shoved the bright yellow Brideghoul flyer in her father's face.

"Ah, a concert," Mr. Matthews observed, giving the flyer a quick glance. The band's logo, a 'brideghoul', seemed to wrinkle his nose. "Nope, you're not going. This is far too scary for my little girl."

"But it's at the library, Dad! What could possibly happen at the library?"

"Let's see...you could be terrified. You could run into some weirdo in the urban legends section. You and your band could be chased out by an angry mob that wants _quiet_ in a _library..._need I go on?"

"Yes, and if you take her into the woods, she could be chased by bears. Your point?" added Maya, who stepped close to Riley protectively.

"No, she won't, because we're in a cabin. No tents, no food up trees, no bear attacks. And you'll be there to protect her!" Cory insisted, passing a bag and a matching fishing cap into Maya's hands. "Already got permission for you. Maya, you're going."

"Really? Thanks, Mr. Matthews." That was a surprise. Maya's eyes lit up at the mention of he trip. Already she was reaching for an interesting-looking pamphlet on the table. "But what about your family, Mr. Matthews? Don't you need room in the car for them?"

"Not helping!" hissed Riley.

"Oh, Topanga and Auggie aren't going. They're staying with the nice lady who runs the bakery downstairs. She thought it'd be great for us to really get the chance to bond outside of school!"

"...yeah, you're totally going about this the wrong way, Cor," Eric interrupted, dropping a heavy hand on his brother's shoulder. "No one goes to the mountain cabin to spend time with their teacher! I mean, unless it's Mr. Feeny. He has a way of sneaking up on you."

"Actually, Eric, about that..."

"Ladies," Eric said, slinging his arms over Riley and Maya's shoulders. The hand near Riley now held the yellow flyer, which he showed to her before tossing aside. "Why go see a band in concert when you can see a real brideghoul? The cabin we're going to is totally haunted, you know. There's an axe murderer ghost bride!"

"You can't be serious," groaned Maya, hiding her face behind the pamphlet she'd been reading. "Ghosts aren't real. It's just stories for tourist traps and a few strobe lights on Halloween."

"Oh, I can assure you that ghosts are very real," whispered Eric, drawing them close with a conspiratorial grin. "Why do ghostbusters exist if there aren't ghosts, huh?"

"Uncle Eric, that was a movie. It's not real!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," he insisted. "I mean, witches are real too. Hey, did I ever tell you girls about the time witches almost sacrificed my best friend to the devil?"

"Uh...no?" Riley said, a dazed and confused expression on her face.

"And you only just met me today," Maya pointed out, forcibly disentangling herself. Though she was smiling just a little. As deranged as he was, the man was entertaining. What a surprise that he was related to Riley!

Their awkward confrontation was then interrupted by Cory, who was carrying yet another heavy bag to the car. "Well why don't you tell them on the way, Uncle Eric? We've got a ways to go to the Poconos, and I don't want to hear any more songs about cans on the wall. You hear me?"

"Not even the one about diet coke?"

"Especially not that one."

"Aww. Well, come on girls. If we hurry up, we might get to the ghost stories tonight!" Eric said gleefully, leading the way out to the car.

Much to Riley's surprise, Maya seemed content to follow him out. She squeaked and latched onto her friend's arm. "What are you doing? You mean we're not gonna stand up and fight for the concert?"

"Uh...looks like your dad's taking your laptop and your iPod with him. Wow, he's playing hardball," Maya whistled as she watched Cory take another pile of stuff from the house. Did he think they were moving to the mountains forever?

"Are you saying you WANT to go face the bears?" Riley accused, hands on her hips.

"Sure, why not?" Maya answered. When she saw the look of dismay on Riley's face, though, she took her arm. "I'm sorry. It's just that...my parents never took me camping, and I want to know. Plus, I'm kinda curious about how deep the rabbit hole goes with your uncle."

"Uncle Eric's a sweet guy, but I'm not sure you really want to know," Riley said just a little too quickly. Her face looked a little flushed.

"Lemme guess: embarrassing stories that you don't want me to know about?" Maya said with a wicked grin. Riley's heart sunk. It was over and she knew it.

"No..."

"You're still a bad liar, Riley. So! Let's head up that mountain! Come on, I'm sure it can't be that bad," Maya encouraged her, gently steering her friend out the door. "Besides, there might be cute mountain boys around!"

"With my dad waving his prized 2008 Phillies bat at the slightest whiff of a boy? No way," Riley pointed out, as Cory and Eric carried the sporting equipment out the door.

"It's way too early to be giving up," Maya said, steering Riley right into the car. She lowered her voice to a whisper as Cory and Eric left to lock up the apartment. "You see, I've got us a plan. And if we play our cards right...we might just have a better weekend than that concert ever would've been."

"How do you know all this?" Riley whispered back. The revving of the engine thankfully distracted the adults, and she could focus entirely on this new scheme as the Matthews family road trip got underway.

"Oh, I have my ways," Maya grinned. She whipped out the pamphlet with a flourish, waving a particularly enticing photo of cute boys riding horses under Riley's nose.

Judging by the look on Riley's face? They were golden. As the two girls shared a smile, it almost seemed like the weekend wouldn't be wasted after all. At least, until...

"99 bottles of diet Coke on the wall, 99 bottles of diet Coke..."

"ERIC!" came a strangled yell from the driver's seat. "What did I tell you about that song? It makes no sense! There's no rhyme, or reason! And why does it have to be DIET Coke?"

"'Cause diet Coke's what all the cool and hip people drink, little bro."

"Well if you don't stop singing that song right now, I'll tell you what's gonna be cool and hip. We'll pull over at the next gas station. And we will buy a bottle of diet Coke. And pour it all over your head. And leave without you, so that you may wallow in your stickiness. Maybe we'll pick you up Sunday, if you're lucky!"

From what the girls could see in the rearview mirror, Eric looked rather creeped out. "...geez, Cor, has Topanga been giving you enough attention?"

"No, but that has absolutely nothing to do with this!"

"_Sure_ it doesn't," Eric rolled his eyes, leaning back to whisper to the girls. "Don't worry, ladies. I'll calm him down by tonight. Promise."

Maya answered with a proud smile. Riley was less sure, but hopeful. If Uncle Eric was going to distract their dad...maybe they'd get to meet some cute mountain boys after all? Endless possibility awaited them.

They might just have to plug their ears for the next few hours.

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><p>End Note: I promise Eric isn't this clueless all the time! Next chapter: Boy Meets World fans probably already know who's waiting for them at the cabin, but needless to say Maya's plan won't exactly go off without a hitch. They'll definitely have an interesting night, though!<p> 


	2. Call of the Feeny

"...whoa now, okay big boy. Okay. The thing about truck stop food is that you've got to pace yourself," Maya said, scrambling over to help Mr. Matthews haul his older brother out of the car.

"Says the girl who wolfed down a whole Solid Sam's Sloppy Joe?" Riley asked skeptically, circling their little mountain wagon to close the doors.

"What can I say? I've had a lot of practice," Maya grinned, patting her belly. Eric was finally strong enough to stand on his own, thank goodness: any longer and he might've sent Cory and Maya crashing into the dirt. Now freed, the two came to stand beside Riley and take in the sight before them: a little cabin in the woods. Just as promised-though with those loose boards and paint smears, it looked like it had seen better days.

"Well, girls? What do you think?" Cory asked, rubbing his hand together and bouncing on his toes. In Mr. Matthews-speak...that meant he really hoped he liked it, Maya knew.

"Charming!" Maya almost shouted, spreading her arms as if to embrace the little cottage in front of her. "Quiet, cozy, rusting..."

That earned her a sharp poke in the elbow from Riley. "I think you mean 'rustic'," she whispered.

"Right, right! Rustic," Maya corrected herself. "Like that car over there."

Her words drew the group's attention to a second car parked at the cabin. The boxy edges and dulled paint suggested it had seen many miles, and perhaps better days. But it was well taken care of.

So was the garden, Riley noticed now. Flowers of every color surrounded the little cabin, planted in a pattern that was natural enough to avoid drawing attention to itself. The little flower petals seemed to shine, and they caught Riley's attention enough that she could honestly say:

"It's really pretty, Dad. I think we'll like it here."

"I think so too, Riley," Cory said happily, rushing his words now. He seemed awfully excited. "Because I haven't even told you the best part yet! We didn't rent this cabin."

"...we didn't?" Maya asked, eyes narrowed. "As in: we're technically not supposed to be here? We could technically be arrested? Or technically wrestling with tents?"

Not that Maya minded some tent camping, but she knew Riley would. So she stepped close to Riley protecively anyway.

"Hey, hey! No need to panic," said Cory, eagerly pushing the girls forward. "We're staying with somebody. And he's very excited to meet you, I might add."

Well that was interesting. Riley pulled Maya aside, grinning happily. "A guy wants to meet us! Could it be that our dreams are coming true?"

Maya gave the beaten old car another look. "You know, I'm thinking no."

"Aww..."

"But there's still those trails nearby, remember? With the horses? Boys? We'll play nice, eat dinner, read our books, and THEN all our dreams will come true tomorrow," Maya promised her.

Unfortunately, Riley could see the logic there, so she nodded and returned to her father. "Okay, Dad. Let's meet the lucky guy!"

Their deliberations were then interrupted by Uncle Eric, now thumping his foot impatiently by the cabin door. "Can we quit the yakking and just go already? Time's a-wasting!"

"Sure, Eric, we'll be right with you," Cory promised, strapping the first load of stuff onto his back. The girls immediately pitched in, grabbing pillows and books and treats of all types.

But they were already too late. Eric had apparently had his fill of waiting, and so he'd unlocked the door, barged into a pitch-black room...and promptly fallen over, if his yelling was any indication. His yell was a little hard to make out.

"Did he just yell 'feed me'? After all that truck stop food?" Riley asked, making a face.

"Nah, it kinda sounded like eBay," Maya said, shaking her head. "Like whoever wired this place is getting a review with a lot of caps-lock tomorrow."

"For heavens' sake, Mr. Matthews. I know you're eager to water my magnolias, but when stepping into the darkness, one does well to turn on a light!" The voice chiding Uncle Eric was mostly unfamiliar to the girls. It had to be an old guy. Stuffy and stern...and yet he didn't sound entirely unhappy to see Eric sprawled in his living room.

Cory bit back a chuckle as he opened the front door for the girls, flipping a switch along the way. They stood at the entrance of a rather cozy room. A fireplace roared in one corner, well-worn couches lined the edges, a shelf of books decorated one wall, and there was already a welcome sweet scent wafting from the kitchen area.

Eric waved to them from one couch near the fireplace, the same couch where he now sat with an older gentleman. The man had clearly seen many years of life, given his neatly cropped snow-white hair, wide-lensed glasses, and thick and fluffy cardigan. There were lines all around his eyes earned from concentration (and exasperation), but on his mouth: a smile, which widened as he stood to greet his visitors.

"Actually, girls, Eric was showing you what he calls the Feeny call," Cory explained, flashing his former teacher the same sort of wicked grin he'd been used to smiling as a boy around Riley's age. "Because this is Mr. Feeny. He taught Eric and me almost everything we know."

"Yup! I never would've made it out there without him," Eric swore, giving his former teacher a gentle ribbing. Mr. Feeny brushed it off with a grumbling noise, but he was clearly still in high spirits.

"Well, that much is obvious," Maya said flatly. "But I swear I've seen you before...where...oh! You're the guy from the subway! The one on that poster that's always staring at me in uncomfortable ways. Telling me I'd better stay in school if I know what's good for me."

"Well, given that you're here, the message seems to be effective," Mr. Feeny said, looking amused.

As Cory crossed the room to join Eric in giving Mr. Feeny a long-overdue hug, Riley seemed to hang back a little. She'd smiled at Maya's jokes, but something had held her back from joining in on the conversation. As always, when she was at a loss for what to do, she reached for Maya and tugged her into whispering range.

"My parents talk about him all the time," Riley said frantically. "That's where Dad learned all the life lessons he hangs over our heads."

"Okay, so? What's the deal?"

"He's, like, a lost legend of the ancient world. What am I supposed to do? Bow down? Speaketh as though we hail fromest thy distant past?"

"...Farkle would be ashamed of that last thing you said. Something about crossing your thees and thous."

"Yeah, he would," Riley agreed. "But what do I do?"

"You could try hello, maybe?" Maya said.

"...if thou sayeth so," Riley nodded. She pulled back, stepped forward, and offered a wave. "So, uh...hey, Mr. Feeny. Mom and Dad have told me so much about you," she admitted.

"Well, what a coincidence this is! Your parents have also told me so much about you," Mr. Feeny smiled, pausing for a moment to take her in. "Including that you most closely resemble your father. I can see it, but I believe Mrs. Matthews has sold herself short. And I've never known her to do such a thing."

"Yup!" Maya agreed, stepping forward. "Allow me to introduce Miss Riley Matthews! She's kind of a love freak like her mom, but a total mess just like Dad. But that's what makes her perfect," she finished, giving her best friend a reassuring squeeze.

"And you're Miss Hart," Mr. Feeny continued, still smiling. "Miss Matthews' best friend, prone to troublemaking incidents. Tell me, how many mailboxes have you blown open in your career?"

"None yet, sir, but thanks for the suggestion!" Maya grinned, saluting the old man.

"Ah, yes. Everything old is new again," Mr. Feeny murmured as an aside to the Matthews brothers. "Well, at any rate: it's a pleasure to finally meet you girls!" They smiled as their old teacher offered a hand to each girl in turn. They shook happily, then watched as Eric seemed to inhale a whole room's worth of air in the kitchen area.

"...uh, don't look now, but I think Eric's trying to use his nose as a mouth," Cory stage-whispered to the rest of the group. "Whatcha got there that's piquing his interest, Mr. Feeny?"

"Oh, just a little something I threw together," Mr. Feeny said modestly. "Beef stew, a homegrown garden salad, teas, and perhaps a muffin for dessert."

"Sounds excellent, Mr. Feeny!" Eric chimed in, now steering the group toward the table. "A meal fit for kings! Come on, gather 'round everybody! It'll get cold!"

"...but what about the truck stop food?" Riley whispered to Maya.

"Somewhere along the line, Eric grew a stomach of steel. I don't get it either," Cory whispered back, and Mr. Matthews answering the question finally shocked them into silence.

"So...things are getting weird, huh Maya?" Riley finally said a minute later, as the men waved them over to dinner.

"They already have, my dear," Maya said confidently. "But hang in there, and we'll have our awesome weekend. Just you wait and see."

Currently all they saw was Eric making funny faces and Mr. Feeny teetering between amusement and exasperation, but the weekend was young yet. There was still plenty of time for a turnaround!

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><p>And there he is! Mr. George Feeny, beloved teacher from the past, still very much alive and well. Now that our main players are properly introduced, we'll start moving into the good stuff! I'm shooting for adventure, laughter, and life lessons in the upcoming chapters, so stay tuned.<p> 


End file.
